High voltage fuse triggers bomb squad response near South Station

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As a precuation, the bomb squad detonated the object, State Police said.

By John R. Ellement and Jacqueline TemperaGlobe Staff and Globe Correspondent
April 15, 2014

A high-voltage fuse that apparently fell off a utility truck
triggered a response today by the State Police bomb squad to the state Department of Transportation’s Division Six headquarters near South Station, officials said.

A state trooper spotted two objects near the MassDOT office at 185 Kneeland St., a white high-rise familiar to commuters heading into downtown Boston or driving onto the Massachusetts Turnpike.

State Police bomb technicians destroyed one as a precaution, according to State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan’s office, which oversees the bomb squad. As they continued their search, they found a second, similar device with one key difference -- it still had a label on it identifying it as a high-voltage fuse.

“The item was rendered safe,’’ Coan’s office said in a statement. “Search of the area revealed an identical item clearly labeled high voltage fuse. Closer examination of the first item that had no label revealed it was also a high voltage fuse. It is believed the items came off of a utility truck.’’

All highway ramps that were closed during this morning’s investigation have since reopened, officials said.

The Division Six building is staffed 24 hours a day with maintenance crews as is a nearby pumping station, said a MassDOT spokesman.

The State Police bomb squad and a Navy explosive ordnance disposal unit from Newport also responded to reports of a suspicious device in Marion, Mass., this morning. The package, found at 25 Barnabas Rd., is believed to be a container of marijuana, not explosives, the fire marshal's office said.